AVB rues missed chances

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas admitted his team could be left counting the cost of failing to beat a resolute Norwich side after Saturday afternoon's Barclays Premier League clash at Carrow Road ended goalless.

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas admitted his team could be left counting the cost of failing to beat a resolute Norwich side after Saturday afternoon's Barclays Premier League clash at Carrow Road ended goalless.

The Blues were unable to fully capitalise on their chance to close the gap on the leading three, who all play Sunday, after Fernando Torres fired another blank against a Norwich side who collected their first clean sheet of the season. Chelsea are now 10 points behind leaders Manchester City, who host Tottenham this weekend, but having played a match more.

Villas-Boas said: "Bearing in mind Norwich's run of form, you could say it is not a bad point, but because we want to be champions, it puts in things in a different perspective ahead of tomorrow's fixtures."

He added: "The games tomorrow can punish us hard in terms of what we were expecting. This could have been a good last opportunity for us to threaten for the title.

"The leaders can build a good margin tomorrow - that is the reality - but Arsenal must have a word to say, Tottenham the same. We don't know what will happen. We will have to wait and see if this is a point gained or two dropped."

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard went off in the first half with a calf injury, which Villas-Boas hopes will not keep the 33-year-old out of action for too long.

He said: "Frank will have to be assessed through an MRI scan, but the doctors tell us it is nothing very serious - maybe a muscle tear and we will have to find the extent of how long he will be out."

Norwich produced another composed display and created several chances of their own, with captain Grant Holt enjoying a running battle with the visitors' defence.

Manager Paul Lambert said: "We certainly gave as good as we got, especially in the first half. John Ruddy was excellent, but the whole group put their bodies on the line when they had to, and it was a huge point for us.

"When you are playing that level of a team, you have to keep your shape because otherwise they will pick you off."